Tag: teachers

The #KodableRoadTour is moving at lightning speed! We have already visited over 20 schools in 10 states, and we don’t plan on slowing down. 🙂

Were you a stop on the #KodableRoadTour and want to show off your programming skills? Or do you just love Kodable and want to support the future of children’s programming? Get some #KodableRoadTour Swag!

Be sure to also check out our daily blog posts from all of our stops to learn more about our adventures, as well as what other classrooms are doing with coding around the country.

We all come from different educational backgrounds, teach many subjects, and have varying responsibilities–but we do have one thing in common. We all teach CS/programming! Let’s chat about our roles as CS educators.

Chat Questions:

Q1: PART A: What subject do you teach? Classroom/homeroom teacher, special area, CS, core subject? #KidsCanCode

Q1: PART B: What is your educational background? #KidsCanCode

Q2: PART A: How much of your responsibilities consist of programming education? #KidsCanCode

Q2: PART B: Is coding part of your lesson plans, or something you added because you wanted to? #KidsCanCode

Q3: PART A: Why is it important for students to learn to code? #KidsCanCode

Q3: PART B: How would you define your role as a CS educator? #KidsCanCode

Q4: How do you define success as a CS educator? #KidsCanCode

Q5: Where do you go for your PD? How do you connect and/or collaborate with other educators? #KidsCanCode

When we founded Kodable, we made it our goal to bring programming to every classroom around the world. In order to make this dream a reality, we have decided to take the next step in teaching coding, and transition from a game to a complete programming curriculum. For those just starting out, developing your own coding curriculum can be a daunting task. That’s where we can help. From now on, all of our updates will work to provide teachers with all of the resources, materials, and metrics that they need to teach their students programming. Take a look at the exciting changes we have made so far.

New Features of the Kodable Programming Curriculum

In 2014, we heard a lot of awesome feedback from the Kodable Community about how to make Kodable even better. You spoke, we listened, and we are now thrilled to introduce the new Kodable Programming Curriculum.

Native Desktop Application (Currently In Beta)

Kodable can now be accessed and played right from your desktop. Kodable Desktop works with any hardware, and syncs all student data to the cloud so they can resume their progress on any device.

Administrative Tools (NEW)

Kodable School Teachers can now manage multiple Teacher Accounts from one Administrative Account. Invite existing teachers, create new accounts, and view all of your classes/students from one dashboard.

Redesigned Dashboard (UPDATES COMING THROUGHOUT MARCH)

Easily manage, view, and track class/student progress from your Teacher Account Dashboard. See what standards your class has completed, and quickly identify students that are struggling.

Plan, organize, and access your lessons from the new Assignments tab. Create a custom lesson playlist, or use the provided lesson guides to help you conquer your first programming lessons.

Learning Guides & Curriculum Activities (SNEEK PEEK)

Prepare to teach your students Sequence and Condition programming concepts with our revised Learning Guides. Make connections to programming concepts outside of Kodable with unplugged activities for your classroom.

Kodable was founded to make programming accessible to everyone. We want more kids learning to code by making it a fun and inviting experience. To ensure we are meeting that goal, we constantly seek and listen to feedback from you, our users. After listening to your suggestions over the past several months and with a web version of Kodable on the horizon, we have decided to retire Kodable Class from the App Store, and migrate the features to Kodable. Streamlining all of Kodable into one great app that EVERYONE can use.

As we prepare to release Kodable on Web, Android, etc, having one app will make more sense and make things consistent for students no matter where they choose to access Kodable.

Starting November 28th, Kodable Class will no longer be available in the App Store, and ALL Kodable Class subscribers, including those on School Plans, will need to migrate to the Kodable App. All of your info will migrate just by entering your class codes or following the migration instructions, so you don’t need to worry about losing it.

Join us for a Migration Webinar November 19th.

To ensure a smooth transition, we’re hosting a short webinar on November 19th at 10am PST. See what time that is for you, here. We’ll walk through the steps for migrating to Kodable, and answer any questions you have about the process. If you can’t make it, check back here for a recording.

If you are using Kodable, not Kodable Class or Kodable Pro: Nothing will change!

If you are using Kodable Class with a Class account: When you have time over the next couple months you should install Kodable on your iPads instead of Kodable Class. You’ll only need one app from that point on! 🙂 All of your info will migrate just by entering your class codes, so you don’t need to worry about losing it.

If you are using Kodable Pro without a Class account: We’ve submitted a final update that will have all the migration information in it. It will be available as soon as Apple approves it. All of your info will migrate just by following the migration instructions, so you don’t need to worry about losing it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What happens after Kodable Class is removed from the App Store on the 28th?

A: If you have Kodable Class on your iPad, it will NOT be removed from the device. However, you will no longer receive future updates to Kodable, and the Kodable Class app will not get future content. Furthermore, if the app is deleted from your device, you will not be able to download it again.

Q: I really like Kodable Class! Why do I need to switch?

A: As we add a web version, Android version etc, Kodable will need to offer students and educators one, consistent learning experience. The features of Kodable Class are NOT going away, they are simply being integrated into Kodable, so you only need one app, with a simple, streamlined experience.

Q: How do I transfer my students who aren’t in a class, but have a profile on the iPad only?

A: You can easily transfer your progress and keep all of the levels. See page 2 of the Migration Guide.

Q: I don’t want to download another app, do I have to?

A: No, you can continue using Kodable Class as before. However, you will NOT receive any future updates after the 28th of November, and you will NOT receive any future content that comes with them. Furthermore, if the app is deleted from your iPad, you will NOT be able to download it again, and will need to get Kodable.

Q: I have a lot of iPads, I can’t get around to updating them before the 28th! Help!

A: If you cannot update by the 28th, don’t worry, the app will still work on your iPads as before. However, you should update as soon as possible to ensure you get future updates and content. .

Q: Can someone from Kodable help me?

A: We will be hosting a quick webinar on November 19th to explain the entire migration process in detail and answer questions. Even if you can’t make it on the 19th, it will be recorded so you can watch it whenever it’s convenient. Check back here for the recording.

Q: What do I do if I created a class, but also have students who aren’t in a class that I want to transfer?

A. To transfer your class, you just need to enter your class code on Kodable like you did in Kodable Class. To transfer the students who aren’t in a class follow directions on page 2 of the Migration Guide.

I hope that you fastened your seat belt for this week’s chat! In this latest edition of #KidsCanCode Chat, we answered everyone’s most pressing coding questions, and covered a TON of topics including everything from Ozobots, to Middle School programming activities, to encouraging authentic reflections.

What do I do if my school is not 1:1? What are the best ways to go about sharing digital devices? This week in #KidsCanCode Chat, we answer these questions, and discuss the pros and cons of sharing classroom technology.

I have a confession to make. This is very hard for me to admit now, but I didn’t always complete the assigned reading when there was a movie available. 😯 What do Sense and Sensibility, To Kill Mockingbird, and Pride and Prejudice all have in common?

Why would I admit this on a blog read predominately by teachers?

Because I have an amazing tip that is going to save you a TON of time! Thankfully, I have channeled my inner deviance here at Kodable HQ for the greater good, and helped to create some resources that are going to help you easily prepare your Kodable coding curriculum. 🙂

I just downloaded Kodable…now what?

When chatting with teachers who are just starting to use Kodable, the most common question I get is the most obvious one, “What do I do next?” At Kodable, we always recommend reading the Kodable Learning Guide, which still remains the go-to source for everything Kodable. However, sometimes you just don’t have the time, energy, or motivation to sit down, read the whole guide, and begin prepping your lesson plan. Or perhaps you are just a visual learner, and don’t want to waste time reading something that you might not retain.

Kodable’s Getting Started Playlist

If you fall into any of the above categories, I suggest you take FULL advantage of one of the most underused resources we have, our Getting Started with Kodable YouTube Playlist. Here’s a little secret: ALL OF THE MAIN POINTS COVERED IN THE LEARNING GUIDE ARE ON VIDEO!

Quickly learn all of the programming concepts taught in Smeeborg including sequence, conditions, and loops:

Sequence in Kodable

Conditions in Kodable

Loops in Kodable

Looking for tutorials?

Confused or have questions about some of the teacher tools in Kodable such as setting up a class or tracking your student’s progress? We have videos to help you with this too!

Creating a Class in Kodable

Tracking Student Progress in Kodable

Questions or comments?

If you find these videos helpful, be sure to let us know. Or if you think you would benefit from a video tutorial on another subject, we would love to hear this as well. 🙂

In this week’s edition of #KidsCanCode chat, we discussed the ways that we can integrate coding with math! We covered what math concepts overlap with computer science, shared our favorite programming/math combo projects, and gave our best suggestions to others based on what we have learned from our own experiences.